Oil-tank.



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OIL TANK.

(Application led Feb. 6, 1902.)

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i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

JOI-IN JOSErII PAQUETTE, O'E NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

OIL-TANK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 702,584, dated June 17,1902.

v Application iilcd February 6.1902. Serial No. 92,848. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that LJOHN JOSEPH PAQUETTE, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Oil-Tanks, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in oil-tanks, and has for one ofits objects to provide a safety oil-tank closure-t'. c., a closureembodying such aconstruction that the cover thereof will be held in itssealed position against the strain or pressure in the tank under normalconditions and yet will give Way to and be displaced by pressure muchless than that necessary to burst the tankthis in order to precludebursting of the tank under sudden expansion," as when the vapor or oilis heated or fired, and prevent the wide- -spread distribution ofburning oil and the consequent endangering of life and property whichwould follow an explosion of the tank.

Another object of the invention is to provide an oil-tank constructed ingeneral with a view of preventing iire from gaining access to the oiltherein. l

Still another obj ect is to provide an oil-tank equipped with simple andreliable means for indicating the quantity of oil which it contains. nOther advantageous features of the invention will be fully understoodfrom the following description and claims When taken in conjunction Withthe accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure I is a longitudinal centralsection of a portion of an oil-tank embodying my invention Fig. 2, aperspective view of the anchor-bar forming part Of the closure removed;Fig. 3, a detail section of a car-tank embodying a modification of theinvention, and Fig. 4 a similar View of a storage-tank embodying anothermodification of the invention.

Referring by letter to the said drawings, and more particularly to Figs.l and 2 thereof, A is an oil-tank designed Inore part-icularly to beplaced in the hold of a vessel or buried in the ground, B a drumconnected to the tank and designed when 'the latter is placed in avessel to extend above the deck and when it is buried in the ground toextend to or above the surface, and C a cover which teriorly With atrough b. The latter is designed to receive the depending flange c ofthe cover C and some substance d, such as Water or cement, calculated toform a seal between the drum and cover, and thereby prevent the escapeof gas and odors through the closure. I prefer the seal just describedfor rendering the closure gas and air tight, but do not desire to beunderstood as confining myself to the saine, as when desired othermeans-such, for instance, as the gasket shown in Fig. 3 and hereinafterdescribedmay be employed Without departing from the scope of myinvention.

D is a bar designed to be placed in engagement With the keeper-lugsa,or,in other Words, anchored in the drum B, after the manner shown, andE is a connection between the said bar and the cover C. This connectionmay be of any suitable construction, although I prefer to have itcomprise a headed bolt c, eX- tending through the bar and cover, and anut f, mounted on the upper threaded end of the bolt. Vhen the cover Cand bar D are arranged in the positions shown and connected together,the bar Will obviously serve as an anchor-bar-fi. c., to anchor or holdthe cover on the drum. The bar D may be of Wood, metal, or othermaterial suitable to the purpose of my invention; but it is essentialthat it be of suoli comparative strength as to hold the cover on thedrum under the strain to which the tank is ordinarily or normallysubjected and yet give Way and become disengaged from the lugs a whenextraordinary pressure much less than that necessary to burst the tankis developed in said tank. I prefer to employ a barD of such strengththat it will give Way and become disengaged from the lugs a when aboutone-fourth of the pressure necessary to burst the tank is developedtherein, this being advantageous, because in the event of the oil beingheated or iired the cover will be displaced under low pressure and thetank relieved from strain. The release of the cover under low pressureis also IOO advantageous, since it affords a free escape for the gas andprevents widespread scattering of the burning particles of oiland theconsequent endangering of life and property. Again, it will be observedthat if the oil contained in my improved tank is tired by any means noserious explosion can take place er injury to the tank result, and, it'desired, the fire may be readily smothered and controlled by placing thecover C or another cover on the drum B.

F is a removable Wire-gauze diaphragm placed in the drum B on lugs g andhaving for its purpose to remove the larger particles of foreign matterfrom the oil supplied through the drum to the tank, and Gis a Wiregauzediaphragm removably placed in the drum B on lugs h, disposed below thelugs g. The gauze of the diaphragm G is much finer than that of thediaphragm F,beingpreferably fourteen or sixteen mesh to the inch. Saiddiaphragm G may be employed to assist the diaphragm F in straining theoil supplied. to the tank; but its chief purpose is to resist the entryof lire through the drum B to the oil in the tank, as tire cannotpenetrate it. Both diaphragme F G are preferably removable in order toenable a Workman to enter the tank when it is necessary to clean thetank or for any other purpose.

ll is a vent-pipe leading` from the tank to a suitable point ofdischarge and protected at either end with Wire-gauze to preventescaping gas from igniting back into the tank; l, a pipe having its endwithin the tank protected by Wire-gauze and designed to be connected toa pump, (not shoivng) J, a nipple connected to the drum B above thegauze diaphragm F and covered at its inner end by wire-gauze J',calculated to resist the passage of fire, and K a nipple also connectedto the drum B, but preferably in a position below the nipple J. Thenipple J is designed to be connected with a hose or other conduitleading from a Wagon, tank-car, or other source of supply, as is alsothe nipple K. Oil is supplied to the drum B from the source of supplythrough the lower conduit, (shown by dotted lines,) While the upperconduit (also shown by dotted lines) has for its purpose to convey thegases and air back te the supplytank-this in order to prevent the escapeof the gases and air and obviate the necessity of the same beingdischarged through the vent-pipe H incident to the filling of the tankA. rlhe Wire-gauze covering the inner end of the nipple J has for itsfunction to prevent the escaping gas from igniting back into the drum B.

L is a dial connected to the outer side of the drum B; M, a shaftjournaled in the Wall of the drum and the dial and having a pointer m atits outer end and a crank n at its inner end; N, a float-lever fulcrumedin the tank A, preferably in an adjustable manner, as shown, so that itsthrow can be regulated, if desirable or necessary, and P a pitmanconnccting the float-lever and the crank of the shaft lll. lVhen theMoat-bearing arm of the lever N is supported by oil in the tank, thepointer m, in conjunction with dial L, willindicate the height of theoil to the observer.

In the modified closure shown in Fig. 3 a gasket d is interposed betweenthe cover C andthe drum B, the bar D is anchored in the tank by placingit against interior abutments in the drum, and the connection E, beforedescribed, is interposed between the cover and the bar. With theexception of the bar D and connection E the construction ofbclosureshown in Fig. 3 is similar to those at present in use on car-tanks. Fromthis it Will be appreciated that my improvements may be readily appliedto car-tank covers at present in use.

The modified construction shown in Fig. It is designed more particularlyfor embodiment in large storage-tanks. In said construction the openingB2 of the tank is surrounded by a trough b', containing a sealingsubstance d2, and the Weight of the cover C2 is depended on to retain itagainst displacement by the pressure present in oil-tanks under normalconditions. Y/Vhen, however, extraordinary pressure is developed in thetank, the cover C2 will be moved by the pressure from over the opening'B2. Both of the covers C C2 are preferably provided with ven t-pipescovered at one end with Wire-gauze, as shown.

I have entered into a detailed description of the construction andrelative arrangement of parts embraced in the present and preferredembodiments of my invention in order to impart a full, clear, and exactunderstanding of the same. l do not desire, however, to be understood asconfining myself to such specific construction and arrangement of parts,as such changes or modifications may be made in practice as fairly fallWithin the scope of my claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

l. In the closure described, the combinan tion of a tank having a drumprovided with interior keeper-lugs at diametrically opposite points, andalso having an exterior trough around its upper portion, and a sealingsubstance in said trough, cover lis-...ving a depending flange disposedin the trough of the drum, a bar arranged in the drum with its ends inengagement with the keeper-lugs thereof, and a connection between anintermediate part of the bar and the cover; the said bar being of suchstrength that it will retain the cover in position under normalconditions, and yet give Way and release the cover when extraordinarypressure less than that necessary to burst the tank is developedtherein.

2. jin oil-tank having a iiliing-drum means for closing the upper end ofsaid drum, an oilstrainin diaphragm disposed in .said drn m, a

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diaphragm offuie Wire-gauzeeapable ofi'esistin the drum over the end ofsaid gas-outlet le ing the passage of re,disposed in 'the drum bepipe.

10W the oil-straining diaphragm, au oil-inlet In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto set pipe connected to the drum above the stiainmy hand inpresence of two subscribing Witing-diaphragm and adapted to be connectedI messes.

With a supply-tank, a gas-outlet pipe also eon- JOHN JOSEPH PAQUE'FFE.`nected with the drum above the oil-straining Witnesses:

diaphragm and adapted to be connected with C. G. REBENTISCH,

the said supply-tan k, and Wire-gau ze arranged l H. XV. SIMERO.

